Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Nov;22 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):324-30.
doi: 10.1007/s11606-007-0340-z.

Providing high-quality care for limited English proficient patients: the importance of language concordance and interpreter use

Quyen Ngo-Metzger  1 , Dara H Sorkin, Russell S Phillips, Sheldon Greenfield, Michael P Massagli, Brian Clarridge, Sherrie H Kaplan
Affiliations

Providing high-quality care for limited English proficient patients: the importance of language concordance and interpreter use

Quyen Ngo-Metzger et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2007 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Provider-patient language discordance is related to worse quality care for limited English proficient (LEP) patients who speak Spanish. However, little is known about language barriers among LEP Asian-American patients.

Objective: We examined the effects of language discordance on the degree of health education and the quality of interpersonal care that patients received, and examined its effect on patient satisfaction. We also evaluated how the presence/absence of a clinic interpreter affected these outcomes.

Design: Cross-sectional survey, response rate 74%.

Participants: A total of 2,746 Chinese and Vietnamese patients receiving care at 11 health centers in 8 cities.

Measurements: Provider-patient language concordance, health education received, quality of interpersonal care, patient ratings of providers, and the presence/absence of a clinic interpreter. Regression analyses were used to adjust for potential confounding.

Results: Patients with language-discordant providers reported receiving less health education (beta = 0.17, p < 0.05) compared to those with language-concordant providers. This effect was mitigated with the use of a clinic interpreter. Patients with language-discordant providers also reported worse interpersonal care (beta = 0.28, p < 0.05), and were more likely to give low ratings to their providers (odds ratio [OR] = 1.61; CI = 0.97-2.67). Using a clinic interpreter did not mitigate these effects and in fact exacerbated disparities in patients' perceptions of their providers.

Conclusion: Language barriers are associated with less health education, worse interpersonal care, and lower patient satisfaction. Having access to a clinic interpreter can facilitate the transmission of health education. However, in terms of patients' ratings of their providers and the quality of interpersonal care, having an interpreter present does not serve as a substitute for language concordance between patient and provider.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Summary File 3, Matrices P19, P20, PCT13, and PCT14. Washington, DC. 2000.
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'PMC', 'value': 'PMC1404523', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1404523/'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '9187576', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9187576/'}]}
    2. Solis JM, Marks G, Garcia M, Shelton D. Acculturation, access to care, and use of preventive services by Hispanics: findings from HHANES 1982–84. Am J Public Health. 1990;80(suppl):11–19. - PMC - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1093/jnci/82.21.1715', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/82.21.1715'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '2231761', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2231761/'}]}
    2. Stein JA, Fox SA. Language preference as an indicator of mammography use among Hispanic women. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1990;82(21):1715–16. - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1016/S1526-9523(02)00218-0', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1016/s1526-9523(02)00218-0'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '12019990', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12019990/'}]}
    2. Timmins CL. The impact of language barriers on the health care of Latinos in the United States: a review of the literature and guidelines for practice. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2002;47(2):80–96. - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'PMC', 'value': 'PMC1405679', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1405679/'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '1951794', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1951794/'}]}
    2. Kirkman-Liff B, Mondragon D. Language of interview: relevance for research of southwest Hispanics. Am J Public Health. 1991;81(11):1399–404, Nov. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types